In another life
by hisimprint
Summary: Imagine a world where the Quileutes had never permitted the Cullens to live in forks. There'd be no werewolves, no imprinting... Where would that leave everyone? JacobxBellaxEdward, LeahxSamxEmily, QuilxClaire.


Bella

Seattle is a beautiful city, especially at night. I adore the streetlights shining, just like a second set of stars.  
"So where do you want to eat, Bells?" Jacob asks, putting his arms around my shoulders.  
I lean into his arm, and smile, "wherever you'd like."

We're walking down a street full of restaurants on either side. The night air is a little chilly, but at the same time it feels amazing. There's no other way I'd want to spend Valentines with my boyfriend of over two years.  
He smiles down at me, and stops walking to kiss me on the forehead.  
My heart flutters, and I mutter "oh, Jake. Just pick a restaurant."  
He grins, but we both snap our heads in the direction of what had just been an extremely loud crashing sound.

The sound makes my heart speed up. I look all around for the source of the noise, but the only thing out of the ordinary are two boys; one fair haired, and one very large holding back a scrawny looking red-head across the street. It appears as though it should be easier to hold him back, but the two men actually seemed to be struggling.  
"Come on, Bella," Jacob starts, his face locked on the brawling men, "let's get inside before this turns into a fistfight."  
I nod, only half listening. The red-headed man across the street, who somehow seems less scrawny, and more copper-haired, had his eyes locked on us. Of course, there'd be no reason for him to be looking at us, but somehow he still looks as though he is.  
I stare right back into his face, and I could almost swear that he was staring me down. An almost feral look crosses his face before I turn my eyes away and Jacob ushers me into the restaurant.

Edward

The smell of that blood. Her blood. I have to get away before she walks out of that place… Carlisle… Carlisle.  
Emmett and Jasper have left me. They simply patted me on the back and whispered hopes that I'd do the right thing. How can they expect me to do the right thing under a state of such intoxication? Emmett had failed when this happened to him. I will fail as well…

She walks out of the restaurant, alone. A cell phone in her hand, smiling and talking to whoever was on the other end. She plays into my darker side.  
Oh, she makes it so easy…  
The girl with the fire in her blood. The fire that I only I can feel, burning across these darkened streets. Smouldering a promise so seductively. A promise that drinking this blood would warm me from this century of ice; make my heart start beating again.  
And my feet are already carrying me across the street. The monster in my head laughs at the control I foolishly thought I had.  
In only a few moments it will be all over. The innocent girl with the appealing blood will be lifeless at my feet. I will be… a murderer once more.  
So why won't my feet stop carrying forward? Why can't I turn around instead of cornering her in the alley she just walked into?  
"Okay, bye mom," the girl says cheerfully. I've cornered her, but she still doesn't see me.  
She turns around to walk back to her restaurant. Her eyes move up and see me, and she freezes. Panic is on her face, and at this point she must be trying to talk herself out of me being a threat.  
She tries to make a neutral face, and she lowers her eyes. She walks quickly toward the restaurant, trying to pass me at the farthest possible place to my left.  
In one quick, sweeping motion I run in front of her. Her eyes shoot up in alarm, and she tries to run to my right.  
Again I block her path, looking down at her with a mixture of a smirk and pity. She panics, and I lift my arm to her throat. I run us both at a speed far too great for her to comprehend so that she is against the wall. Her body smacks with a sickening crunch against the brick.  
Within half a minute, her hands are clawing at the one I have around her neck, trying to pry my iron grip off. Her eyes are watering, and she's screaming with what little she can get through her windpipe.  
Her eyes look around frantically as she continues struggling. I wait for my least favourite part of killing to take place… the thoughts.  
The reason I decided to give up hunting humans in the first place. As someone dies, their mind reveals the most disturbing thoughts imaginable. Regrets, pain, sadness, memories, and everything in between. It breaks my frozen heart each and every time.  
But I'm taken by surprise when I hear what I least expected… nothing.  
This struggling human with the intoxicating blood cannot even formulate a thought as she dies.  
I take a better look at her. The emotions are almost written plain on her face, yet not a sound is issued in her mind. Could this girl be more than her blood? She must have a family, friends, a life. She probably had goals, memories, even likes and dislikes. A human being, just as I had once been.  
Is she beautiful? I look into her face for real. Her hair is a normal shade of brown, there's nothing striking about her eyes. Her mouth is a little uneven, not that it matters with her screaming. She had a nice face. The kind of face someone's sister or girlfriend would have. She had a nice smile, too. The kind of smile I would smile back to in another circumstance.  
"Bella?" a male voice calls from the mouth of the alley.  
I loosen my grip around the girl's neck to see how she reacts. She presses the left side of her face to the wall and closes her eyes. She sobs quietly.  
"Bella? Where are you?" The voice calls more urgently.  
"Jake..." she whispers, her voice cracking from the pressure I had just been inflicting.  
She takes a deep breathe, and still I hear nothing of her mind. "Jake!" she musters a bit more loudly, "Jake, get help!"  
But her Jake doesn't get help. Instead, the unintelligent man runs into the alley screaming "Bella, Bella!"  
I take a step back, releasing my hand from her throat. She falls to the ground, and struggles to look up at the man.  
He runs in front of me to her, and sinks down to her level. His mind is as clear as day, while hers still remains silent. I began to wonder if her mind was no longer attached.  
"Oh, Bella… what did he do to you? Are you alright honey? It's okay, I'm here now."  
"Jake…" She croaks.  
Finally, the man realizes that I have not fled, and that I am still standing within feet of him and his girlfriend. He stands and faces me.  
His skin is a nice russet colour and I kind of feel like I've seen him before. There's nothing really striking with him other than that. He's tall compared to the girl, but average next to me.

"I'm calling the cops. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay here until they get here."  
I rest my arm on the brick wall, flashing him a cocky smile. He looks down at the girl protectively, and then faces me again with malice.  
"Are you psycho or something?" he spits.  
Its takes all my control, but somehow I find the strength in me to walk away from this blood. I don't know if I'll be able to stay away from it forever.  
"I warned you!" yells the man, countless awful words running through his mind, "the police will find you!"  
I turn back to him in one quick movement. "Not you, or any police, will see my face again," I say in a hiss, taking an intimidating step towards the girl.  
The guy runs forward, and throws his fist to punch me. I grab it midair, and twist it until I hear a satisfying crunching sound. I throw him to the ground beside his girlfriend.  
She crawls closer to him, her brow scrunched in worry. She runs a shaking hand over his face. He doesn't respond. He must be unconscious from hitting his head when I threw him.  
Again, no thoughts come from the girl. Her emotions are plainly written as she stares down into her boyfriend's face. Love.  
I had heard love in people's minds all my life. From my father and mother, to my siblings. I knew all sorts of loves, all bouncing around everyone's head but mine.  
Never though, had I witnessed such a silent display of love. It almost seemed that since I couldn't hear what she was thinking, what she was showing became the focus. I never looked at that before. Body language. Having to look too see what someone was saying.

Love. Whatever that is.  
And the man beside her, though unconscious, had his mind brimming of this love as well. Though not as powerful as the girl, Bella's, silence, it could not be denied either.  
I hear the sound of fabric blowing in the wind, and suddenly, another vampire stands beside me, everything but his face is covered in a grey cloak.  
"Are these your kill?" he asks with a voice that makes my skin crawl. I turn to him, and see his nearly bright red eyes. He's barely more than a new-born.  
"No," I answer, and within a moment I realize I should have said yes. The cloaked vampire's thoughts shift to torturing the two humans in front of me. He sends me a smile, and then promptly dives onto Bella, knocking her onto the ground.  
Not her…

But wasn't I about to finish her myself…?  
My body reacts without thinking, and I dive into the vampire, pinning him against the wall. I twist and rip off his head, throwing it across the alley.  
Then… I smell it. Bella's fresh blood.  
I snap my head to face her, still pinning the creature's body. Bella tries to crawl to a corner, her shirt badly ripped, the skin underneath lightly bleeding.

My body goes rigid… The call of her blood is so strong.  
The creature takes my hesitation, and throws me off him. He runs and reattaches his head, snarling inhumanly. He crouches in a feline pose, facing me.  
"I thought they weren't your kill," he says matter-of-factly.  
"The girl," a growl ripples through my body, "is mine."  
The vampire growls, but stands out of his crouch. He nods at me, and gestures for me to take her. He watches as I step slowly towards her.

I lower myself to her level. Her eyes look up at me in hatred, as her body shakes in pain. I expected to see fear instead. Her eyes stare into mine in defiance, and then she glances to her man and all the anger melts from her face. That emotion again…  
How could I ever think about killing this love? I would keep her alive for him, and him for her. I would keep love alive for me, only because I want so badly to know that love can be real for me. I will find it, even if it takes eternity. Bella has inspired me to do that.  
The thirst in my throat burns, as I face away from her and to the other vampire. I glide quickly to block his path.  
"Go. These humans will not die tonight," I say emotionlessly.  
The creature's eyes shine before he crashes into me, battling for his meal. I jump from the wall behind me and push him to the ground. As quickly as possible, I rip off his arm and shred it.  
The creature pushes me backwards, into Bella's love. His heart continues to beat, and his thoughts continue to be of her, however, he is badly injured. I push us away from him.  
I jump up and rip off the creatures head again, shredding it. Moving as quickly and steadily as I can, I finish him. I jump on the rooftops, and scatter his remains as best I can. He did not quite deserve death tonight.  
Quickly, I run back to the alley. Bella has crawled to her love's side, and she holds him between her arms while calling for help.  
Slowly, I walk a few feet away from her, kneeling at her level.  
"Are you alright?" I ask softly.  
She looks up at me, distrust on her face, but not fear. "I know what you are," she says between wheezing.  
"You're incredibly fast," she says, "and strong. Your skin… is pale white… and ice cold."  
I nod, looking into her brave face.  
"I know what you are," she repeats.  
"Say it," I ask softly, "out loud."  
She looks into my eyes, full of pity and understanding, "vampire."  
I nod to her, watching her expression, "are you afraid?"  
She shakes her head slowly, never taking her eyes off mine.


End file.
